Travelling with a party of 5 - what have you done?

[peacefrogdog]

My family consists of me and my wife, and my 3 kids (now aged 8,6 and 6). We have travelled so far on the Freedom and most recently the Allure. Each time we travelled with my parents, and booked two inside staterooms with one of the kids sleeping in my parents' cabin.

 

We didn't spend much time in our cabins, but with the kids still being a bit young, we were usually inside before supper and at bedtime (~ 9 PM). With this most recent trip things seemed tight in the inside stateroom compared to our Freedom sailing in 2009 (during which we also had an inside statement). Part of it I think is that the Allure has a sofabed rather than the two Pullman's, eliminating the space in front of the couch when pulled out. Another part is that the kids are bigger than before.

 

The main thing is that we really noticed not having enough space for storage. Bathroom time (for showers etc.) was starting to be an issue as wel. But for future cruises we're debating whether or not other stateroom options would better meet our needs. Even if there was a balcony that could help with providing space to lay out our wet bathing suits.

 

We tentatively booked a family inside stateroom for our 2012 cruise. The square footage is around 90 sq ft larger than the basic inside stateroom and hoping that would be enough. But even debating whether getting two inside staterooms would be better (although slightly more expensive). What have others (who have a party of 5) booked and how did it work out?

[dohertm1]

If it's only slightly more expensive, book two inside adjoining inside staterooms with pullmans in one room if possible. More space, two bathrooms, added privacy and a kids room. Have fun.

[Shades of Turquoise]

We have 3 kids who are now teenagers. We always get 2 cabins (and hotel rooms). The extra cost is a killer but trying to share 1 bathroom is no vacation. It's great when the cabins have a connecting door. We have also had adjoining balconies with the partition open which allowed us to pass between rooms from the outside.

[Tucker in Texas]

One way to ease the bathroom problem with everyone wanting to shower at the same time when coming from the pool/shore is for some to shower in the gym.

 

Tucker in Texas

[dealhunter]

My family which usually consists of me, dh, dd 8 and dd 18 and sometimes one or two grandparents. We have been on many cruises and started out booking the oceanview connecting cabins. Something about having that connecting door open door makes us feel like we have more space. A few cruises back we decided to try a balcony on the Freedom and have been in love with the balcony cabin since that day. Now we always book a connecting balcony and its really nice when they open up the door on the balcony and you have this big sitting area for the entire family to enjoy. We usually don't spend a lot of time in our cabins, but our kids enjoyed the time sitting out on the balcony so much so its worth it to us. The balcony definitely made it feel like we had more space especially in the cabin where the kids and grandparents slept.

[funfamilyof6]

We are a family of 6...we always get connecting oceanview to get extra storage space, extra bathroom and more privacy.

 

Another tip if you choose to get the balcony, be careful hanging bathing suits out on a balcony, you may lose them.

 

Personally, you would be better off getting any connecting rooms over one room even if it is a balcony

 

It's funny that you mentioned that the Allure felt smaller because of having a sofabed over the pullmans. This is one reason why we haven't booked the Allure/Oasis yet. We usually get a quad connected to a double. The quad always has 2 pullmans. This option is not available on the Allure/Oasis. We would have to use a sofabed which our kids(15, 14, 12, 8) hate. We plan to book the Oasis/Allure in the near future and are going to have the bite the bullet to book on one of these beautiful mega-ships.:)

[01Sweetpea]

We are a family of 5, all teenagers and step-siblings. We book 3 cabins :eek:. DH & I in a balcony, the boys in a PR across the hall and my step-daughter in a PR next door, usually adjoining.

 

Yes, it is VERY expensive to book this way, BUT DH & I enjoy our privacy and we are willing to pay for my step-daughter to have her own room versus bunk with us. :o

[MAHA]

We are also a family of 5 and have always booked 2 cabins. We do the same when booking hotel rooms as well. Our sons are much older than your children and on their first cruise were 22, 18 and 12. They had an inside cabin one away from us. Since then, we have always booked next door cabins, just to be closer. Having 2 cabins allows privacy for Mom & Dad as well as having 2 bathrooms for showers, etc.

[marci22]

Your options would depend on the ship. We really liked the connecting E balconies we had on Brilliance but you might not like that because your kids are younger. With kids that age I would either do one room or connecting rooms.

[ChicagoBound]

We're going on Allure this Sunday (3/27/11) and have five of us in one non-suite room! I'm a little worried, but I think it will be okay. It's me, my wife and our three kids (7 year-old twins and a 3 year-old). We have a balcony room with a bed, a sofa-bed and a ceiling lowering pullman bed. There won't be a whole lot of room to walk around, but I figure, how much time are we going to spend in the room anyway. It's the world's largest cruise ship. So I'll let you know how it goes.

[smacksgirl11]

We are also a family of 5 but our kids are a little older (15, 21 & 7), so we do a balcony and have them across from us. I would look into connecting cabins for you family, it may be a good option.

[Jimnbigd]

For sure connecting cabins is the way to go.

Connecting cabins do book up fast, so you need to book early. If you want a 2012 cruise, book now.

You can always get your deposit back if you cancel before final payment date.

Caution: Not all connecting cabins sleep 5 -- I have seen some connecting cabins where both cabins only sleep 2.

A TA might be helpful here.

Also look at the deck plans to see your choices for connecting cabins.

We are taking my step-son and his family this Sunday, and they have 2 connecting inside cabins with pullman berths.

 

When you board the ship, go eat lunch, then go to Adventure Ocean to sign up your kids. Both parents should go so either can sign the kids in/out.

[boulders]

I have me, ds15, dd12 and ds5. We've had several different cabin arrangements- family oceanview, single balcony, connecting balconies, adjoining balconies, single oceanview.

 

As a mom, I do not like it when ds5 is in a different room than me. It makes me very nervous to have him out of sight and unsupervised. I much prefer to have him in the same cabin. Even with connecting rooms, I did not like having him in the other room as I couldn't see him. So, he ends up in my room except for sleeping. I personally like the family rooms - the two family oceanviews have been my favourites. I would try to get a family balcony in your situation.

[love-to-cruise2]

We have been cruising with our 3 kids for 10 years now. Now they are 15, 18 and 20. We always get 2 rooms. A Junior Suite for us and an inside cabin for them. If we are traveling with other families, they also get a balcony or junior suite and put their kids in an inside with girls vs boys scenarios. It will be so cramped if you put 5 in one room. Taking a shower with that many people is a chore! We are going on Navigator in a few weeks and all my kids are going (even the 2 college kids) and we got 3 rooms. My son is bringing a friend, and my girls are in their own cabin. We are taking only a 4 night cruise because the college kids are only missing 2 days of school. I know it is an expense but it will give you so much more space plus 2 bathrooms! Enjoy and Have a great Cruise!

[lbryant]

I thought I would mention the Category FO; which sleeps 6 and is very roomy! Our family of 5 typically get 2 inside cabins (not connecting, but next door to each other); but once on an extended family trip we put all the grand-daughters (age 19 down to age 6) into the family oceanview while the adults all had balcony cabins. The Cat FO room was very large, had the queen bed, queen sofa sleeper and a separate curtained-off alcove with pullman bunk beds. It was perfect for the younger girls to go to sleep early and not be disturbed by the older girls staying up. It's slightly more expensive then getting 2 low-category insides, but with very young children, you might feel better being together.

 

The FO's do sell out fast & you often have to call RCCL to get them reserved. The other slight downside is that they tend to be the very far forward, so it can be a hike to activities at the other end of the ship. But it's a great space with plenty of storage for 5 girls (3 of them teenagers) on a 15-night cruise.

Enjoy!

[Mimmsf]

we are family of 5 (me, my husband and 3 kids ages 10, 8 and 3). we always get 2 adjoining rooms with the connecting door. we have always booked the balcony rooms but I'm guessing they have the connecting rooms in all levels. works out great..kids get their own room, bathroom, tv, etc. The bathroom is a really good perk since my husband and I used our bathroom for getting ready for dinner while there was a child getting ready in the shower in their room.

we do bring a monitor so we can hear if the 3 yr old needs us. (even with the door open it seemed a little hard to hear if he called us gently) I didn't want to hear him only after he woke up the other 2 children so the monitor worked great.

have a great trip!